OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
3:33 PM – Wednesday, April 22, 2026
A chemical leak at Catalyst Refiners, a silver plant in West Virginia, has reportedly killed two people and sent 19 others to the hospital.
On Wednesday, workers were preparing to shut down part of the Institute, West Virginia, facility when the leak occurred, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman announced.
Sigman noted during a news briefing that nitric acid and another substance had triggered a chemical gas reaction, framing the incident as “a violent reaction of the chemicals” which “instantaneously overreacted.”
“Starting or ending a chemical reaction are the most dangerous times,” Sigman added.
Officials reported that seven of those who were injured were working in ambulances responding to the leak. Additionally, several others were transported to hospitals in private cars, with one traveling via a garbage truck.
One individual was later reported to be in critical condition, according to Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango.
Several patients were treated at the emergency room at Vandalia Health Charleston Area Medical Center, according to hospital spokesman Dale Witte. He said those patients reported respiratory symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, sore throats and itchy eyes.
In a statement, WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston said it treated about a dozen patients, including eight who were not at the plant but were in the surrounding area at the time. None of the injuries evaluated at the hospital were considered life-threatening.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for the surrounding area, though officials said all of the reported deaths and injuries involved people who were at the scene.
“You had to get really close to the facility to smell it,” Sigman added.
Ames Goldsmith Corp., the owner of Catalyst Refiners, said it was deeply saddened by the deaths at the plant and pledged to cooperate fully with local, state and federal authorities as investigations into the incident continue.
“This is an unfathomably difficult time,” company President Frank Barber said in a statement at the news briefing. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families.”
Senator Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) also posted on X on Wednesday saying that he was “closely monitoring the chemical emergency at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute.”
“Cathy and I are praying for the staff, first responders, emergency personnel, and residents affected in the area,” he wrote. “I will remain in contact with local officials as the situation develops.”
“The loss of two folks at the Catalyst Refiners plant is an absolutely horrific update,” he added in another post.
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